By Brad Morris
SportingPumpkin.com
AMANDA — Bloom-Carroll dominated the line of scrimmage and ripped off 34 straight points in the second and third quarters on Friday to deal host Amanda-Clearcreek a 34-7 Mid-State League Buckeye Division setback.
Defending league champion Bloom-Carroll (5-0, 2-0) remains in a tie for first with Teays Valley (5-0, 2-0) and Hamilton Township (3-0, 2-0) after posting its first win in The Pit since 2015.
While the Bulldogs are widely known for their wide open offense and ability to rack up points under coach Wade Bartholomew, they turned to their defense to set the tone.
Amanda-Clearcreek (3-2, 1-1) had a huge advantage in field position during the first quarter, starting drives on their own 47 twice and on the Bloom-Carroll 39, following a return by Grant Guiler.
The Bulldogs, however, stepped up and held the Aces to a three-and-out on all three possessions. Bloom-Carroll went on to yield the Aces just 29 yards of total offense in the first half, 15 of which came on a pass from Nate Hunter to Tayvon Miller for the Aces’ lone first down of the half, with less than two minutes remaining before the break.
Chase Plantz helped the Bulldogs get their offense cranked up early in the second quarter on an seven-play drive that stretched 85 yards. Plantz hit the Aces for a 24-yard carry and then busted through the middle of the defense for a 40-yard scamper to the end zone, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead after the first of four extra points from Treyton McKee.
Bartholomew gambled late in the second quarter on a fourth-and-one play with KJ Benedict finding Branyon Dodds for a two-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0.
The Aces tried to maintain possession to open the third quarter, but a fumble on a fourth-and-one play on their own 35-yard line handed the ball back over to the Bulldogs.
Bloom-Carroll cashed the field position in six plays later on a three-yard touchdown tote from Clay Dozer to make it 20-0.
The Bulldogs eventually stretched their lead to 34-0 with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter on touchdown passes of 56 and 14 yards from Benedict to Dodds.
Amanda-Clearcreek finally reached the scoreboard on a 25-yard touchdown run by Nate Hunter late in the fourth quarter. Jonathan Weaver added the PAT.
The Bulldogs rushed for 239 of their 397 yards of total offense, with Plantz covering 98 yards on just six touches with a score and Dylan Armentrout using 11 carries to consume 72 yards.
Benedict was a sharp 15-of-19 passing for 158 yards for three touchdowns, with all three of those scoring grabs hauled in by Dodds, who finished with 129 yards receiving on seven receptions.
Amanda-Clearcreek has struggled trying to establish a consistent run game this season, and that continued on Friday against Bloom-Carroll. The Aces were checked to just 45 yards rushing and 117 yards of total offense.
The Bulldogs host Liberty Union (2-3, 0-2) next week, while the Aces make the trip down U.S. 22 to tangle with Circleville (2-3, 0-2).
Score By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Bloom-Carroll 0 14 20 0 34
Amanda-Clearcreek 0 0 0 7 7
Second Quarter
BC — Chase Plantz 40 run (Treyton McKee kick), 10:47.
BC — Branyon Dodds 2 pass from KJ Benedict (Treyton McKee kick), 2:05.
Third Quarter
BC — Clay Dozer 3 run (kick failed), 8:04.
BC — Branyon Dodds 56 pass from KJ Benedict (Treyton McKee kick), 5:52.
BC — Branyon Dodds 14 pass from KJ Benedict (Treyton McKee kick), 1:59.
Fourth Quarter
AC — Nate Hunter 25 run (Jonathan Weaver kick), 1:54.
TEAM STATISTICS
BC AC
First downs 15 5
Rushing yards 32-239 20-45
Passing yards 158 72
Comp.-Att.-Int 5-8-0 10-25-0
Total yards 397 117
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-47 3-25
Punts-Ave. 5-25 8-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Bloom-Carroll — Chase Plantz 6-98, Dylan Armentrout 11-72, Clay Dozer 3-27, Isaiah Roberts 6-24, KJ Benedict 2-10, Beau Wisecarver 3-8, Brodyn Bishop 1-0. Amanda-Clearcreek — Nate Hunter 9-33, Hunter Matheny 10-11, Tayvon Miller 1-1.
PASSING – Bloom-Carroll — KJ Benedict 15-19-0-158. Amanda-Clearcreek — Nate Hunter 10-24-0-72, Trent Hedges 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – Bloom-Carroll — Branyon Dodds 7-129, Beau Wisecarver 4-28, Andrew Marshall 1-4, Dylan Armentrout 1-1, Cory Casto 1-0, Brandon Totten 1-(-4). Amanda-Clearcreek — Tayvon Miller 3-31, Brady Sharp 3-15, Cade Young 2-15, Grant Guiler 1-10, Peyton Cassley 1-1.